Macadamia Pesto

Basil is in love with this combination of rain and sun. The leaves need to be picked before it turns to flower heads so it is pesto time. We don't have pine nuts and macadamia nuts are cheaper and not imported so it's macadamia pesto time.

First I wash the leaves and pinch off all the stalks. I put a cup of nuts in the mixer then plenty of leaves - about 2 packed cupsworth. I add a packet of shaved parmesan, four cloves of garlic, the juice of a lemon and half a cup of olive oil.

We only have one of those stick mixers and it takes a little while to get through the cheese to the leaves. As it begins to mush, the stick makes it through to the nuts and the pesto starts to get the familiar texture, colour and smell. When it is thoroughly mixed I open a sandwich bag over the end of the mixer and shake some pesto in. I take three serves from the mixer, seal them up and put them into the freezer. With one vegetarian and one who only eats local happy meat there are plenty of times when a bag of pesto is a great option.